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APPARATUS FOR SYNTHESIZING FACSIMILE' SIGNALS FROM CODED SIGNALS Griginal Filed July 29, 1950 4; Sheets-Sheet l 1R Jnuenfor A ORNEY 8 AGENT 0* ONE.

W-' i953 c, HUN'II'. m; Re. 23,713

APPARATUS FOR SYNTl-IIESIZING mcsxmm SIGNALS mom comm SIGNALS Original Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 i I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I I ATTORNEY I? AGENT Sept. 22, 1953 c. E. HUNT, JR 23,713

APPARATUS FOR SYNTHESIZING FACSIMILE SIGNALS FROM comm SIGNALS Original Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGS.

YZER OD flu cum: n on DD 11 U ANAL YZER ANAL DI?) VCRJ MR MAC HARMON CREEK RD LEROY N Y DR/ VCR-S DRIVERS DRIVERS CLAYTON E. HUNT, JR.

Iinuentor ATTORNEY 8 AGENT Re'iseucd Sept. flit FOR SYNTHESHZMIG FAESIMILE SKGNALS tlflldilllfil ditllhlllclla Clayton E. Hunt. Elia, Rochester, N. Y, assighor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y... a corporation oi New Jersey @rigiual No. 2,575,017, dated November 13, 1951, Serial Noyl'lfijilt, July 29, 1950. Application for reissue December 18, 1952, Serial No. 326,808

t Claims. it

This invention relates to :i'acslmile apparatus and more particularly to a translating mechanism which generates and records facsimile signals corresponding to the characters represented by received coded signals.

The present invention deals with. apparatus which will print legible characters from a single input signal and. at extremely high speeds.

It is an object of the invention to provide a system capable of high speed translation of a. character representing signal into synthetic facsimile signals of the represented character.

In accordance with a principal feature of the invention, a. control voltage derived by sensing record cards or other means which will provide successive coded printing signals are applied to an electric matrix including a plurality of electronic tubes arranged in columns and rows in such a manner that the tubes forming a pattern in the shape of the character represented by the control voltage are selectively energized. Each row of tubes is connected to individual recording means which may comprise the separate styli of a multiple styli recording unit such as is described and claimed in patent application Serial Number 174,423, filed July 18, 1950, by Russell G. Thompson. Sequence circuit means operating in timed relation with the feeding of the recording medium functions to render the selectively energized tubes efiective, column after column, to operate the related recording elements in proper sequence to build up on the recording medium the character represented by the control voltage applied to the matrix.

Another object or the invention is to provide a circuit arrangement which. is capable of analyzing a coded signal and posting a voltage on a terminal individual'to the character represented by the signal.

For printing alphabetical characters as well as digits, 9. six element binary code for the coded signals is preferred. These signals may originate in any manner but the invention contemplates their derivation from punched'tabulatingcards or perforated tapes.

Apparatus according to the invention will print over three hundred characters a second which is fast enough to make it compatible with high speed digital computers and its use to record in-= terznediate or final results of such computers is contemplated.

The invention will be better understood from the following description when read in connec-- tion with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows schematically a signal generating matrix incorporated in a. unit for recording from a punched card or tape;

Fig. 2 illustrates the unit of Fig. 1 with emphasis on the details of the signal analyzer;

Fig. 3 shows a six element binary code which the units of Figs. 1, 2 and 5 are designed to handle;

Fig. 4.- shows diagrammatically a simplified a1- rangement for recording digits only; and

Fig. 5 is a conventionalized showing of an em bodiment of the invention adapted for printing address labels.

The apparatus to be described for the purpose of disclosing the invention has been; designed to record or print all characters with a. definition in height of seven lines and with. five-line definition in width. More or fewer lines may be employed as desired but it is believed that seven by fits definition gives the lowest resolving power which can be tolerated when it is desired to print characters which are easily legible.

The apparatus to be described for the printing of alphabetical characters as well as digits has been designed for synthesizing facsimile signals from signals coded from six binary elements. Any other code may of course be employed as long as it meets the requirement that unique voltage patterns may be derived for each coded character signal.

Card feeding mechanisms for moving cards under sensing brushes and means for advancing recording mediums past the printing styli are so Well known that their descrlptionherein is unnecessary.

For synthesizing the proper facsimile signals for reproducing a character represented by a. single signal, a group of duotriode tubes II] are arranged in seven columns of five rows each and are so connected that both grids of each duotriode it must be energized to obtain an output from the tube. All of the tubes It in a row are connected with their outputs in parallel to the input of a. twin triode tube It connected as an ordinary inverter stage with its right triode out 01f except when its grid is furnished a positive pulse from the output of one of the tubes at in its row. The lefthand side of this inverter stage i l is normally conducting, but is out off by a negative pulse when the right side starts to conduct. The plate of the right side of the inverter stage II is connected to the grid of a power tube W" and the plate of the lefthand side is connected to the grid of a power tube B, the outputs of these two power tubes being connected, respectively, to printing coils "W"-.. and B of an electromagnetic driver I2 for one of the printing styli It. The tubes [H] in each row are similarly connected through an inverter and amplifier to the electromagnetic drivers I2 some 3 01: the other styli of the recorder. When the coil "3 is energized, it presses its associated styli [3 against a printing roller it which marks the intervening paper it from a carbon paper iii.

Both sides of the thirty-five duotriodes it are normally conducting. The ieft sides of certain of the tubes 19 are cut off by a signal from sensing brushes i1 througlra decoder it, the tubes l which are selectively cut oil being selected by a network comprising a set of connections for each character to be reproduced or which only two are illustrated, via, for the characters 2" and "E. It will be noted that the network for the character 2 connects the signal from the decoder it through high resistances iii to the three middle tubes Hi in the first column on the right, the upper and lower tubes iii in the second column, the upper tube ii) in the third column, the second and third tubes in from the top in the fourth column, the next to the bottom tube libin the fifth column, the bottom tube it in the sixth column and all five tubes iii inthe seventh column. This cuts or? the lefthand side of these tubes id and it will be noted that the tubes iii thus conditioned comprise a pattern forming the numeral 2" when viewed from the lefthancl side of the drawing. Since no printing signal is produced until both sides of a tube iii are cut oil. a sequence circuit is provided for cutting oil in rapid succession the righthand sides of the tubes in the seven columns. As here shown, this sequence circuit comprises seven twin triode tubes 2%, each connected as a self-restoring trigger circuit and so associated with each other that when the first of these tubes is triggered, it will, upon restoring itself, trigger the next succeeding tube until all seven tubes have been triggered in rapid sequence. Each of these self-restoring trigger circuits is individually associated with a column of the matrix tubes Hi such that during the time a trigger circuit is in its unstabl state the righthand side of all the matrix tubes it in its associated column are cut on, with the result that during this unstable stage the tubes it in the associated column whose leithand sides were cut off by the network signal as above described, will furnish a printing signal to the corresponding styli i3 so that with the recording medium it moving at the proper speed the character 2 will be built up thereon from top to bottom (see Fig. 2). For decreasing the amount or" plate current under D. C. conditions, 2. high resistance 2i by-passed by a condenser 22 may be used to couple the power tubes B and W to their associated vibrator coils B and W. Under A. C. conditions the condenser 22 allows full supply voltage to be impressed on the vibrator coils B and W.

A card or tape punched or perforated in the six-element binary code oi Fig. 3 may be converted into signals for energizing the proper matrix tubes it! by the arrangement. shown in Fig. 2. As here shown, a perforated tape 30 is moved by suitable means 3i between a group of six sensing brushes Ii and an electrode it connected to a high negative voltage. These six sensing brushes H are connected to the lefthand side of individual twin triode tubes 33 connected in ordinary flip-flop arrangement. Initially, all six of the flip-flop tubes 33 have their left sides conducting. When one or more or the sensing brushes l7 encounters a perforation, it connects the electrode 32 to the grid of the lefthand side of its associated flip-flop tube 33 which functions to transfer current from the left to the right side of the tube 33, thereby producing a positive pulse from its right grid through a capacitor 35 and the ri ht side or its associated diode 3 1 to the grid of a tube 36 which thus starts to conduct, thereby generating a negative pulse on its anode which is applied through a capacitor 3? to the righthand grid of the first trigger tube 28, thereby starting the sequence circuit to operate through its cycle.

A series or character-selecting tubes 38, one for each character to be printed, have their grids connected through a high resistance 759 th one side or the other of all six flip-flop tubes '33 in such a manner that a signal must be recei'ed simultaneously from all six flip-fiop tubes 33 in order to render the charactenselecting tube 38 conducting and thus provide a negative potential on the anode terminal of the tube 38 due to its load resistor til. Only threecharacter-selecting tubes 33 are shown in the drawing and the anode terminals of these tubes are designated by the character the respective tubes represent, i. e., the characters l, 2 and E.

In the six-element binary code as shown in Fig. 3 the numeral 2 is represented by a single perforation in the fourth position which, when sensed by a brush ll, functions to transfer current from the left to the right side of the flipflop tube 33, fourth from the left which it will be noted is the only flip-flop tube 33 having its left side connected to the grid of the tube 38 having the anode terminal 2. Thus the grid of this tube 38 has the potential of its cathode and is conducting, while the grids of all the other tube 38 are connected to at least one flip-flop element which is conducting and are. therefore, subjected to the more negative potential of the cathodes oi the tubes 33 which biases them beyond cutofi.

It is thus evident that when the brushes ll sense a group of perforations in the code tape 3!! representing the numeral 2, the corresponding character-selecting tube 38 conducts to post a negative potential on its anode terminal 2 which in turn conditions certain of the matrix tubes H3 as selected by the 2 network. At the same time the tube 35 furnishes a print signal to the first tube 2! of the sequence circuit which operates through its cycle to furnish the electromagnetic drivers l2 successive groups of signals as determined by the conditioned tubes H], which signals cause the styli it to mark the paper IS in the pattern of the character It will be appreciated that the paper l5 upon which the record is made is advanced under the Styli 3 at a speed such that it moves a distance equal to the desired height of a character during the period required for the sequence circuit to complete one cycle.

When the last tube 20 of the sequence circuit restores itself, a. negative pulse is furnished to the grid of a normally conducting triode ti connected as a cathode follower which cuts off the triode 4| and the resulting negative pulse appearing on its cathode is applied through the right side of all the duodiodes 34 to the grids of the right sides of the tubes 33, thereby resetting all the flip-flop tubes 33 to their initial condition in which their left sides are conducting. Any positive signal generated by the breaking of th contact between the sensing brushes l1 and the electrode 32 are clipped by the left side of the corresponding diode 36.

By arranging a plurality of the above-described units in groups, any desired number of parallel columns may be recorded simultaneously the w oiier it. to ten ar s Each set of driver. it resurrected lyzing brushes Ill through a circuit i. iii 30 translates the signal received when a brush ll contacts the electrode irito facsimile signals for the digit represented by such hrush For printing lines ratmatrix tubes iii are or and seven rows for operst 1g 2. seven styli E3. The need for is obvious from the fact the chars-c be printed are seven units of definition high end five units wide. 11"- greater resolving power is desired, the number of units of deiihitioti of course, be increased.

One important application of for printing lines lies the address labels for the smiling i other items. Fi .5 is highly convent rial showing of the invention. stressed {or he 1] ing of address labels from or tsoulatiog record cards having perforatin accordance with the code shown Jig. fer o representing the letters and di its to printed on the address label. The pi. line to be printed occur sir: Gilli twentydour index point oosi ions. index point positions IClcJL'lbfii standard record co and o modate the tweets-dour riossit s positions at present required for address lob it be noted that the perioreti osces between the index positions tions themselves.

when the cord is advanced as in printing relation past the drivers the intelligence rep perforations in t e four groi. each. will be printed in legi tape As was stated above, the r invention is indifferent to the or. as character-representihg signals arid the use of sensing brushes for deriving these signals have been exclusively illustrated because of the widespread use of equipment of th s tree W can more readily be com-"sited to miser es-rate the present invention.

The arrangement or the relay tubes iii has for convenience or description o, re e -red to as a matrix but it will he so ar term matrix relates to the functional lfiiliitliiOlfl ship of the tubes ill and ill I'MJWEE liiriits actual spatial positions. .iilso, to those slrilled in the rel .3? time" time or the tubes to ii -ray he rleri'orhzied hr other i a "ted by the columns the c e iit which will riorhish 8!, print only when. two signals are simulta- 1e electrosisgheticolly-e.ctuetecl Styli for csrhori T'Wlfil recording have been described to he understood that the facs mtheslzed accordance with ey he employed to actuate our i it o o is. lie records: heads.

modmeetiohs described for the purpose of disclosing the fundamental features of the invention are hot to he taken as limiting since ges adaptations will. be obvious to those soled in this without departing i the scores of t? s so ended claims.

i hat ll clair desire to secure by character the charprisrig analyzer mes providing code-r1 signal an electi c signal on one plurality of soirials individual to character represented thereby, o. plurality oi electronic arranged i "he equivalent of the colonies ""d rows of 113. i a, circuit network indirid to cash character to he represented and coimeeted to certain of electronic tubes and to oi the terminals so that a signal on one of the terminals conditions said certair. tubes, the outputs of the electronic tubes in each row being connected in parallel, his rig for following each of a multi-- esters co "1 pliclty of collateral extending along a. surface which he representation is to appear,

each of so o means lasing individual to a corresponding row of the electronic tubes, circ'uit means for energizing the columns oi tubes in rapid succession to cause the conditioned tubes in. each column to provide on output while so energized, and means controlled by the output of each row of tubes for operating the correspending marking recording system. for utilizing character-- p1 exiting electric received. sequence c orising a separate terminal for each chemoter to he reeorded, a responsive to the received signals for providing potentials on the terminals corresponding to the characters repre-- sented hr the signals, a plurality of switching res "ing two simultaneously applied signals to oolzspletee. switoh'mg operation, arranged equivalent to the columns and rows of a matrix, the switching iiresos'irr each row being parallel between pair .oi buses, recaps individual to and operative upon. a, switchirog operation between esch pair of buses. for marking each or a multiplicity of collateral paths extending along a. record surface, a network 111-- diridual to each terminal applying the potenttial of the terminal a signal to a predeterooirih ation of the switching means corresponding the character represented by the associated terminal, and means for applying 2. sigoal in succession. to each. solemn of switching moses, whereby the marking means are operated simultaneously from the rows in columnar sequence in. accordance with the switching means which received 2. signal from the network.

3. Apparatus for recordiusg Li columnar form L digital received as an electric pulse on a tuating the recording elements singly and in combinations, a plurality of electronic relays connected in parallel to each recording element actuating means so that operation of any one of said relays will energize the recording element actuating means connected thereto, a circult network individual to each terminal for selectively conditioning said relays in accord a'nce with the digit represented by the electric pulse received on the terminal, and means operative upon the receipt of an electric pulse on any of the terminals for selectively operating in a predetermined sequence the selectively con ditioned relays, whereby the actuating means for the recording elements are energized to mark the recording medium in the form of the digit appropriate to the terminal receiving the electric pulse.

4. In apparatus for translating a series of coded character signals into a multiple series oi electric signals corresponding to a parallel scan-- ning of the coded characters in succession, a plurality of relays arranged equivalent to the columns and rows of a matrix, the relays in each row being connected in parallel between a pair of buses, so that the operation of any relay in a row furnishes a signal to its buses, a network individual to each character for selecd tively conditioning, when energized, the relays in accordance with the character to which the network is individual, means for operating the conditioned relays in columnar sequence, whereby a series of signals are furnished each pair of buses, and analyzing means responsive to each coded signal for energizing the network individual to the character represented by the signal.

5. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein the means for operating the conditioned i-ela-ys in columnar sequence comprises a plurality of self-restoring trigger circuits, each having a stable and an active state, connected in cascade so that as each trigger circuit returns to its stable state it triggers the next succeeding trigger circuit and each trigger circuit being coupled to an individual column of relays so that during the times the trigger circuits are in their active states they furnish a signal to the relays in their associated columns.

6. The apparatus described in claim 5 wherein each time the analyzer means energiizes a net- Work it furnishes a triggering pulse to the first of the cascade connected trigger circuits.

CLAYTON E. HUNT, JR.

No references cited. 

